In the spirit of school starting in little over a week, here are some free talks for the medieval/early-modern history fans out there, especially those interested in the body, food, illness, punishment, and so on. (I’ve also thrown in one lecture on early medieval Latin song with my dear M. in mind.)Continue reading “Things That Seem Incredible”→

Adapted directly and faithfully from Clare’s letter to Ermentrude of Bruges:

Gaze upon Him,consider Him, contemplate Him, as you desire to imitate Him.

This labor of ours is brief, but the reward is eternal;
do not be disturbed by the clamor of the world, which passes like a shadow;
let the empty specters of the deceiving world not drive you mad;
shut your ears to the whispers of hell and, strong, break down its attempts against you.
Pray and be always vigilant.

Today’s post features a few of my favorite snapshots I’ve taken around Seattle, Washington. I’m posting these in memory of the town, because M. and I have moved across the country and I start school in two weeks at Binghamton University in central New York as transfer student and Medieval History major! That’s why things have been quiet around here, we’ve both been very busy.

“I am longing to be near you, my dear Louis. I love you with all my heart, and I feel my affection so much more when you’re not here with me. It would be impossible for me to live apart from you.”–Zelie, in a letter to Louis

Today is the feast day of Saints Louis and Zelie Martin, not the first married Saints by far, but the first married pair to be canonized as a couple..

These are selections from a 2007-10 street art series, the theme of which was “small things.” At the time it seemed to me that so much of street art was either macho and bombastic, or had a sense of forced cuteness. I wanted to focus on the theme of the small while avoiding a twee sensibility.

For the last couple of days I’ve been reading about small strange incidents regarding exposure to radioactivity, especially non-military events, or the lesser-known stories on the periphery of larger disasters. It’s utterly fascinating stuff, regardless of your position on the development of nuclear technology.